It’s high time Commissioner Goodell frees Josh Gordon

The last time Josh Gordon played football, the Ice Bucket Challenge was still going around, Kevin Durant was still on the Thunder, Harambe was alive and well, and the term “fake news” hadn’t been uttered yet. It seems like forever ago, because it was. Yet the entire time, the only thing that remained constant was the Gordon was out of football.

Unless you’ve been held up in a bunker for years living off of Netflix binges and whatever canned food you can find, you’re fully aware of the reign of Kaiser Goodell. It’s absurd that it’s gotten to the point we’re at with Goodell, but here we are. Something naturally grown like marijuana is worse than one of the seven deadly sins and spitting on the pope, while players like Greg Hardy are free to play in the league following domestic violence issues. Another reinstatement attempt for Gordon, another failure. Try again in the fall.

Source: The NFL has denied #Browns WR Josh Gordon’s reinstatement petition. He can reapply this fall.

It’s hard to understand the message Goodell is trying to send, most likely because he doesn’t know what it is. He’s like a dog chasing his tail. He doesn’t exactly know what to do when he catches it. It’s not like Gordon hasn’t done his best to become a refined citizen for doing the unthinkable deed of smoking pot. His business manager is even said he’s ready to be the best version of Flash Gordon we’ve seen yet.

“He has taken the proper steps to treat his issues and has followed a very strict protocol that the league and our team here has laid out for him. He’s also in the best shape of his life and feels even better than he did when he had his breakout year in 2013.”

Michael Johnson

Normally, that’s a sign to put Gordon all the way up on your big board for fantasy season, but life under the the reign of the commish isn’t normal. For now, Goodell is just continuing to try to stick a square block in a circular hole. The most infuriating thing about Goodell isn’t that he has his witch-hunting eyes completely set on pot smokers now that is crusade against Tom Brady is dead. It’s that he understands there are benefits to smoking weed. He’s just turning the other way, while his league passes out painkillers like they’re at an EDM concert.

Let’s be fair here. Gordon is not smoking for the medical benefits. He’s sitting around passing Js with Johnny Football talking about the glory days in between coughing fits. There has to be at least some sort of accountability towards him since those are technically the rules the over hundreds and hundreds of NFL players can somewhat follow to a degree. Still, let’s get real here. There aren’t bigger fish to fry?

Roger Goodell would be a terrible super hero. Flying past a woman being punched to keep the city safe from Josh Gordon calmly smoking weed.

We can even move away from domestic violence for Kaiser Goodell and focus on drinking and driving. Alcohol kills more lives per year than Goodell’s arch nemesis the sticky green, but last time I checked, Michael Floyd just signed a deal with the Vikings after he passed out drunk at a red light just a couple of months ago. I’m all in for a solid booze binge, but the fact that drinking and driving is passable while smoking weed isn’t is just flat out laughable.

The only thing to compare Goodell to at this point is Dead Pritchard from “Old School”.

Come on. Unless you’re related to the man himself or are directly making money hand over fist because of him, you have to admit that is a spot-on impression of Goodell. We all know the commissioner fancies himself as a man who can hold a vendetta. Who knows what his issue with weed is, but there’s an issue. Did some dealer and his friends make fun of Goodell back in his younger days, slap him with a funny nickname and drive him to be the power-hungry league tyrant he is right now? It’s hard to say, but it’s not out of the question.

Josh Gordon remaining out of the league isn’t about marijuana being the addictive gateway drug Commissioner Goodell claims it is. It isn’t even about Gordon himself. It’s about the Commissioner saving face. It’s been shown time and time again Goodell isn’t the kind of man who is going to admit he’s wrong and to walk the other way to fix a problem that might actually need fixing. Instead he becomes fixated on one thing, and doesn’t change his opinion for anyone or anything. Case closed.

You can compare people who have their eligibility to play all day long with Gordon. There’s no need to. Bringing up Ray Rice sucker punching his wife or Greg Hardy throwing his wife on a slew of guns. His eligibility has nothing to do with anyone else’s. It has to do with Gordon’s biggest issue being his infatuation with a drug that is legal in numerous states. He’s a multiple time offender for a crime that isn’t even a crime.